Cosmonauts‘ psych-punk scorcher If You Wanna Die Then I Wanna Die came out last year as a 12″ LP on Burger Records, and this month the Southern California band will see it reissued by the Spanish label Ayo Silver! Recorded in August 2011 by Adam Ashe at Thee Men’s Warehouse in Anaheim, CA, within viewing distance of Disneyland’s nightly fireworks, If You Wanna Die Then I Wanna Die burns down the California dream with a volatile mix of strychnine-laced psych, and reverb drenched garage. Alexander Ahmadi and Derek Cowart grew up in the same North County neighborhood, forming Cosmonauts in the summer of 2009 while wishing for more rain, and it seems the two must of raised themselves up on a steady diet of Spacemen 3, 13th Floor Elevators, Stooges, as well as contemporary favs like Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, and The Black Angels. Played at blazing speeds with punk abandon, Cosmonauts make these influences their own on tracks like “Motorcycle #1“, “Please Don’t Make Me Blue“, “Super Reverb“, and “Dreamboat“. The band is currently touring the US on their way to the Austin Psych Fest, with dates across the country to follow, so stop by their site to check them out.
